COVID-19 Update: NY Gov. Cuomo says 50% of business employees must remain at home

All businesses in New York state are required to have 50% of their workforces stay at home under a new rule announced this morning by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Businesses that are deemed essential are exempted from the requirement.

When questioned as to whether businesses such as a Home Depot building supply distributor is classified as essential and, therefore, exempt from the rule, Cuomo said his office would be providing a specific list. He did say that food stores, pharmacies, shipping companies, and health care operators would be exempt.

In a tweet following the news conference, Cuomo said: “There”™s never been a more important time for New Yorkers to receive accurate, real time information & the role of the media has never been more essential. For that reason media organizations will be exempted from the 50% work reduction order.”

The 50% stay-at-home requirement also applies to local governments.

Cuomo again stated his opposition to imposing a “shelter in place” order such as been suggested by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Cuomo revealed that there were 1,008 new cases of the coronavirus detected in New York state between yesterday and today, with the number of cases reaching 2,382. The number of cases in Westchester jumped to 538. New York City 1,339 cases. The number of cases in some of the other counties were:

Nassau ”“ 183

Suffolk ”“ 116

Albany ”“ 36

Orange – 32

Rockland ”“ 30

Dutchess ”“ 20

Monroe ”“ 14

Saratoga – 14

Cuomo said that he would be meeting with representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this afternoon in an effort to tap the corps”™ construction capabilities in building backup hospital facilities to help ensure that the health care system can handle a rapid influx of seriously ill patients.

He said there is an urgent need to address an anticipated shortage of ventilators that are used to help patients breathe. The COVID-19 virus attacks cells deep in the lungs, creating a fibroid condition in which the lungs lose the sponginess and flexibility needed to intake air so oxygen can be transferred to the blood.

Cuomo said that he met yesterday with the state”™s hospital administrators, and that Department of Health regulations were being waived to allow hospitals to put in more beds without regard to mandated items such as distances between beds and existing patient room occupancy limitations.

Cuomo said that with the current rate of spread of the virus, in 45 days the state could need to have 110,000 hospital beds. It currently has 53,000. He said the state could need 37,000 intensive care unit beds, more than 12 times the 3,000 it currently has.

Cuomo said that he spoke with President Trump this morning who said that he will have the Pentagon send the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort to New York. The vessel, a noncommissioned ship owned by the Navy but operated by civilians from the Military Sealift Command, has about 1,000 beds.

“It”™s literally a floating hospital that will add capacity and the president said he would dispatch that immediately,” Cuomo said.